mily of freedom." In 1857 he avowed himself "not in favor of" what he
improperly called "negro citizenship," for the Constitution
discriminates between citizens and electors. Three days before his
death he declared his preference that "the elective franchise were now
conferred on the very intelligent of the colored men, and on those of
them who served our cause as soldiers;" but he wished it done by the
States themselves, and he never harbored the thought of exacting it
from a new government, as a condition of its recognition.
The last day of his life beamed with sunshine, as he sent, by the
Speaker of this House, his friendly greetings to the men of the Rocky
mountains and the Pacific slope; as he contemplated the return of
hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fruitful industry; as he welcomed
in advance hundreds of thousands of emigrants from Europe; as his eye
kindled with enthusiasm at the coming wealth of the nation. And so,
with these thoughts for his country, he was removed from the toils and
temptations of this life, and was at peace.
Hardly had the late President been consigned to the grave when the
prime minister of England died, full of years and honors. Palmerston
traced his lineage to the time of the conqueror; LINCOLN went back only
to his grandfather. Palmerston received his education from the best
scholars of Harrow, Edinburg, and Cambridge; LINCOLN'S early teachers
were the silent forest, the prairie, the river, and the stars.
Palmerston was in public life for sixty years; LINCOLN for but a tenth
of that time. Palmerston was a skilful guide of an established
aristocracy; LINCOLN a leader, or rather a companion, of the people.
Palmerston was exclusively an Englishman, and made his boast in the
House of Commons that the interest of England was his Shibboleth;
LINCOLN thought always of mankind, as well as his own country, and
served human nature itself. Palmerston, from his narrowness as an
Englishman, did not endear his country to any one court or to any one
nation, but rather caused general uneasiness and dislike; LINCOLN left
America more beloved than ever by all the peoples of Europe. Palmerston
was self-possessed and adroit in reconciling the conflicting factions
of the aristocracy; LINCOLN, frank and ingenuous, knew how to poise
himself on the ever-moving opinions of the masses. Palmerston was
capable of insolence towards the weak, quick to the sense of honor, not
heedful of right;
LINCOLN reje
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